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Portugal

M2.0 Earthquake near AZORES ISLANDS, PORTUGAL (Portugal)

UTC time: 2025-12-21 16:02:28 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

On December 21, 2025 at 16:02 UTC, a magnitude M2.0 earthquake occurred near AZORES ISLANDS, PORTUGAL (Portugal). The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 4 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size typically go unnoticed.

The event was recorded by EMSC.

Details

ID
5d62b897154aa9e47b2759d45888b09955a1c48a
Magnitude
M2.0
Depth
4.0 km
UTC time
2025-12-21 16:02:28 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Portugal
Source
emsc
Coordinates
38.75400, -28.73000
Temperature
15.2°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 4 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 4 km
Shallow
4 km
4 km — close to the regional average (6.1 km)
Regional average: 6.1 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Fayal
    Distance: 20 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'041 m ·Last eruption: 1958 ·Portugal
  • Pico
    Distance: 43 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'351 m ·Last eruption: 1720 ·Portugal
  • Sao Jorge
    Distance: 58 km ·Fissure vent ·Elevation: 1'053 m ·Last eruption: 1902 ·Portugal
  • Graciosa
    Distance: 72 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 402 m ·Last eruption: -1950 ·Portugal
  • Terceira
    Distance: 122 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'023 m ·Last eruption: 2000 ·Portugal
  • Don Joao de Castro Bank
    Distance: 192 km ·Shield ·Elevation: -13 m ·Last eruption: 1720 ·Portugal

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Horta AirportPortugal · HOR · LPHR
    26.1 kmStraight-line distance
  • Pico AirportPortugal · PIX · LPPI
    33.5 kmStraight-line distance
  • São Jorge AirportPortugal · SJZ · LPSJ
    49.1 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-06

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Portugal

Context for this earthquake

06 Sep 2025 – 06 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 222 Catalogue entries

Of 221 other entries for this area and period, 166 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · Portugal

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Country statistics · Portugal

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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